Scars
by microwaveablegiraffe
Summary: Berwald had an interesting past, one that had left him with many scars. Who would have guessed that second chances come with blind Finnish boys? Sufin, Trans!Finland
1. Chapter 1

Berwald stood on the train, holding onto a pole for balance. He tried not to be self conscious, but with the way he looked, so many people were probably judging him. Thick, pink scars were on his face and arms and Berwald constantly worried about his appearance.

The train stopped, and new passengers came on as others went off. Berwald looked down to check his phone; the vibrating in his pocket often drew more unwanted attention. As Berwald checked his phone, someone stumbled into a newly empty seat in front of him.

The passenger, a blond young adult, bumped into Berwald. The passenger turned around to apologize, and Berwald winced at what they would think. It had happened before, a young child or even grown-ups have been frightened and intimidated by the tall, scarred Swede.

They turned around, and Berwald saw the dark glasses, an indication that they were blind. Berwald was filled with relief, and saw the cane in their small hands. Their nails were shiny and polished, with a lustrous clear coat. Behind the dark glasses were wide brown eyes, round, pink cheeks, and a face of unintelligible gender.

Berwald suddenly remembered the proper social protocol and said, "Sorry for bumping into you earlier." The young adult in a tan sweater's gasped in remembrance, "Oh no, it was my fault! You probably wouldn't be surprised how often this happens! They call me a clumsy fella, you know!" Everything they said had an exclamation mark at the end. Such an exuberant "fella" they were. They smiled kindly at him.

In a few seconds on a train, Berwald grew fond of the clumsy, blind, young fellow. "It's no problem," Berwald responded, smiling at them. And it was no problem. When Berwald's stop came, he guided the fellow named Tino off the train.

* * *

A few days later, Tino called Berwald. Their caregiver, Eduard, had to go to a close friend's wedding, and Tino would need someone to drive them to and from work because according to Tino's older brother, it is not safe for little blind boys to ride the train alone.

Tino had given Berwald their phone number, another thing their older brother, Lukas, disapproved of. "He seems very kind," Tino said in defense of Berwald. "Yes, but what if he's not?" Lukas would always retort. He did give up however, and entrusted this Berwald with his little brother.

Berwald agreed to drive Tino around, of course, his days had become lonely and monotonous. His old friend from Denmark had always said, "It's okay to be lonely, and it's okay to be monotonous, but if you have both together, you need to go out and have a mug of beer," of course, the Dane would often become very drunk after saying this, but the statement still stands.

 _Wow,_ he thought, _I'm agreeing with Matthias. I really do need to go and make some more_ _friends._

 _The statement still stands,_ he figured, and grabbed his keys. He had to ride the train to Tino's house because he did not have a car. The train wasn't too crowded, fortunately. He always felt extremely insecure on the train, his scars and so-called intimidation were not in his favor in public spaces. But they are, when your idiot best friend drags you into a drunken bar fight. But enough about that.

When Berwald arrived to Tino's home, Berwald felt out of place. It felt like a little cottage where you could expect little fairies to pop up out of thin air. The color scheme was a bit interesting, however. _But what would you expect from a blind guy?_ Berwald reasoned. Tino welcomed Berwald in with a hug, trying to keep Berwald out of the living room, where Lukas lay in wait, preparing to thoroughly analyze him. Tino sighed, reluctantly ending the hug, a hug they were both grateful for. Tino found Berwald's ample muscle to be very nice, and it had been a while since Berwald had had any pleasant physical contact.

"Ahem," said Lukas, tired of waiting "patiently" in the living room. His eyebrow was raised in calculation as he examined the Swede. Berwald could merely stand there awkwardly, as Lukas determined if he could trust him. Lukas sighed, and then shrugged.

"Tino, would you mind if I made you two breakfast?"

Berwald was unaware of this, but Tino knew exactly what The Breakfast Test™ was. Tino had seen Lukas execute The Breakfast Test™ many times before with their younger brother's many (ex)-boyfriends. Lukas would analyze how the test subject responded to different things Lukas would do and say. If the subject passed the examination, he would be allowed to go on a date with Emil, and in this case, Tino.

And Lukas began, "So Berwald, do you like maple syrup on your pancakes?"

* * *

After the strenuous interrogation and background check, Lukas decided to trust Berwald with Tino.

"That was something," Berwald stated.

"Yeah," Tino sighed, "He can be a bit overprotective."

"It's okay, I can tell that you're someone worth protecting," Berwald intimated flirtingly.

Tino blushed, as did Berwald.

"Let's get you to work now, okay?" Berwald said, and Tino agreed. Berwald started the car, and Tino felt the warmth coming from outside the window. They had never seen sunshine, yet they knew it looked as beautiful as it was comforting. They had never seen Berwald, but they had grown quite fond of his voice.


	2. Chapter 2

Berwald never regretted meeting Matthias.

But he did wish that he would stop calling him. They hadn't spoken in years, and they would never be as close as they once were. After Matthias's fifteenth? attempt, Berwald decided to humor him.

"Hello?" Berwald spoke into his cell phone.  
"Hey! Ber, how's life been for ya?" Matthias spoke loudly, and his slightly abrasive voice was endearing.

"Matthias, why have you been calling me so much?" Berwald inquired - tactfully making Matthias unable to beat around the bush.  
"I missed ya! Also, can I stay at your house for a few weeks? My roommate kicked me out."

Berwald sighed. With Matthias, there was always a catch.

"Sure, I guess."

Berwald never regretted meeting Matthias.

* * *

It was the last day of Berwald driving Tino to work, and this upset Tino. The Finn had pondered for hours the night before, and they had hardly come to a conclusion. It wasn't until their phone in a soft, round case began to buzz with a phone call from Feliks, that Tino came up with a plan.

"Hey Tino, like, have you heard from Eduard? I can't, like, get in touch with Toris," the Polish man went on, only to remember that Toris had accidentally left his phone at Feliks's house. As Feliks spoke, Tino realized that this was their chance.

"Hey, Feliks, I'd like to set up an appointment for tomorrow," Feliks was a manicurist; Tino had known him since Feliks was a closeted preteen in middle school, stuck with doing girls' nails during lunch and gossiping in secret.

"Oh sure! You aren't scheduled for, like, another two weeks; why the change?"

"I, uh, just wanted a new nail polish. You know how it is, right?" Tino stumbled on their words, and the ever intuitive manicurist noticed.

"Er—I gotta go! Have a good day, Feliks!"

"Okay," Feliks drew out the word suspiciously.

* * *

Berwald had really liked their routine.

Berwald knocked on Tino's door, as was tradition, and waited to hear them stumbling towards the door. Tino opened the door, and as was tradition, hugged Berwald.

"Did you put on cologne, Ber?"

Berwald blushed and answered in the affirmative. Tino sighed happily and breathed in Berwald's comforting scent. Tino was dressed in a soft, pink camisole; it was as dainty and cute as the ever delicate Finn.

"Oh sorry! I'm still in my nightclothes, Ber, let me go shower and change, so we can go," Tino stated this softly, crossing their arms to hide the small breasts beneath the thin fabric.

"Go on," Berwald mumbled, feeling the vibration of his phone in his pocket.

 _do you still live in the same apartment complex?_

Berwald replied to Matthias, and told him to stop messaging him. He hung his head in his hands, filling himself with resolve. Resolve for what, he did not know. He heard the shower turn off, and he became a bit more comfortable on Tino's powder blue loveseat.

Berwald had really liked their routine.

* * *

After their shift at work was over, Tino stepped into their car, in which Berwald was the driver. The two sat wistfully, both disappointed that it was the last day of their arrangement. And then Tino remembered.

Berwald hardly made it to the nail salon on time, as Berwald was not the most familiar with places as these. And Tino, of course, could be of no assistance when it comes to directions. Eventually, Berwald did find the nail salon, and he decided to wait in the car while Tino had their appointment.

Their plan was nothing too grand; they merely wanted more time with Berwald. Tino stepped into the salon and was greeted by an exuberant Polish man.

Berwald sat in the car and googled the nail salon. The head manicurist was called the "Polish polisher" on the company website.

 _Hilarious._

* * *

Tino sat and waited for Feliks to come with a color selection. Today, however, he brought only one bottle of polish. When Tino asked why, Feliks stated that he was certain Tino would love it.

Feliks began to clean Tino's hands and asked about the "man candy" that was in the driver's seat of Tino's car. Tino blushed and said that Berwald was just a friend.

"Oh _come on_ Tino," Feliks pushed, "I can tell you like him."

Tino blushed and countered him, "What makes you so sure of that?"

Feliks was a very intelligent person - this was evident as he explained his reasoning for believing that Tino was romantically interested in the Swedish man in the driver's seat of their car.

"To start, I figured that Berwald is, like, your substitute caregiver, correct?"

Tino nodded.

"Next, I know that Toris will be returning tomorrow. So that, like, means this'll be your last day with Berwald - perhaps you want extra time with him so that you can make a move?"

Before Tino could disagree, Feliks shushed them and began polishing their nails.

"If you like him, go for it. What are you waiting for?"

Tino pondered this. _I_ won't _have much of a chance after this,_ Tino thought.

"Well I'm done. Call me if you need, like, relationship advice or something," the manicurist joked.

Feliks finished Tino's nails and walked them to their car. "Thanks, Feliks."

"Anytime, sweetie. Now go get 'em."

* * *

Tino rubbed their nails, feeling the rough texture of the sequins that Feliks had decorated the clear polish with.

They reached for Berwald's hand carefully. The sun was setting. Tino's mouth was dry.

"Berwald, there's something I need to talk to you about."


End file.
